St. George sisters arrested for meth distribution, possession

ST. GEORGE – Following a lengthy investigation, the Washington County Drug Task Force arrested two St. George sisters Tuesday on a variety of drug charges, including methamphetamine distribution in a drug-free zone.

During the course of the investigation, the task force conducted three controlled meth buys on separate occasions which took place at the sisters’ home, located on the 200 North block of Mall Drive in St. George, through the use of a confidential informant who purchased the meth from Larsen, task force Detective Matt Schuman said in a probable cause statement supporting Larsen’s arrests.

Detectives spotted Larsen and Swanson leaving their home Tuesday, headed north on Mall Drive with Swanson behind the wheel, and initiated a traffic stop because Swanson was driving with a suspended license, task force Detective Jim Jessop said in a probable cause statement supporting Swanson’s arrest.

After placing Swanson under arrest for driving on a suspended license, detectives found a baggie in Swanson’s pocket containing a white residue which tested positive for methamphetamine, Jessop said in the statement, along with several pills, identified as clonazepam and alprazolam, both schedule 4 controlled substances, as well as sleeping pills.

“As I was pulling a plastic baggie out of (Swanson’s) pocket, she stated that the pills were hers,” Jessop said.

When no prescription bottles with identifying labels were found during the search, according to the statement, Swanson changed her story about the pills.

“(Swanson) made an unsolicited statement about the loose pills,” Jessop wrote, “saying the pills weren’t hers and that she found them on the ground of someone’s garage.”

During a search of Larsen’s purse, after placing her under arrest for drug distribution, detectives found a glass pipe with a burnt residue wrapped in a yellow rag, as well as a wallet containing a plastic bag, according to Schuman’s probable cause statement. The plastic bag contained a crystal substance that later tested positive as meth.

Larsen and Swanson were booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility.

Larsen was charged with two first-degree felonies for drug distribution in a drug-free zone, one second-degree felony for drug distribution, one third-degree felony for drug possession, and a class B misdemeanor for possession of drug paraphernalia.

Larsen’s bail pending trial stands at $65,583.

Swanson was charged with one third-degree felony for drug possession, two class A misdemeanors for possession of drugs, a class B misdemeanor for possession of drug paraphernalia, and a class C misdemeanor for driving with a suspended license.

Swanson’s bail pending trial stands at $7,019.

Both women made their initial court appearance on Thursday and are scheduled to make their next court appearance on Feb. 23.

Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.

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About the Author

Kimberly Scott is a lifetime resident of Southern Utah. In 2013, Kimberly joined St. George News as a vital member of its editing, reporting and administrative team. She is passionate about engaging communities through writing and is dedicated to providing complete and accurate coverage of both anticipated and breaking news.